25. Theo
When the sun streamed into my semi-closed blinds, I turned around in a panic before I saw that Audrey was still there. She hadn’t disappeared, or gotten up and left in regret in the middle of the night. My mind traced back, repeating the events of the evening, and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. When she said she loved me, when she followed me home, the way we touched each other—my hands drifted across her arm, and her goosebumps travelled from underneath the soft, white t-shirt she’d put on before we went to sleep. The cool, winter air made me realise we left a window cracked open, but even when closed, the thin windows of my apartment struggled to keep the heat in. Somehow, she looked just as dazzling as she did last night, with and without the dress.
“Good morning, love.” My hands gently moved the hair from her face to behind her ear, and her eyes started to crease from the contact. “How can you still be sleepy?”
“Give me five more minutes,” she groaned, and I felt lucky to find out in this way that she wasn’t a morning person. I moved closer to her, kissing her forehead, cheeks, and chin, but it backfired. Her eyes finally opened with that famous Audrey glare. “I said five more minutes!”
Somehow, I thought I’d be the first to chuck a tantrum over something so stupid, and it made me hold in a chuckle. “Alright, alright.” I kissed her one last time. “I’m going to go make a coffee, want one?”
“Hmph,” she mumbled in a sort of confirmation. Her eyes closed again as she cocooned herself in the duvet. Good God, she had my heart. I stretched out, finally walking away from the bedroom to give her some peace. Since Paris, I’d taken note of how she liked her coffee, in case she ever planned to stop by. I knew my barista talents wouldn’t compare to Lucy’s, but still, I bent into my fridge, ready to practice the recipe—a lavender oat milk latte. I brewed a pot of coffee for us both, and while I simply made mine black, I took the lavender syrup from the cabinet and added a tablespoon to her cup. I poured the coffee in, and then a dash of foaming oat milk from the milk frother. By the time I’d finished, I turned around to see Audrey standing in my shirt and boxers, half-dazed. Her hair was now tucked into a low ponytail, a likely effort to reduce some frizz. She stepped forward and took the cup from my hands.
“You just had this around?” Her mouth turned to a smile after she took a sip, some foam still sticking to the top of her lips, tempting me to lick it off.
“I take notice of you, Audrey. Of course I’m going to stock your favourite drink.” Somehow, the simple gesture seemed to make such an impact on her, and she took a moment to reply. I realised she never had much stability, other than Lucy, who was the only person Audrey could consistently count on. I wanted to give her stability too—not just by remembering her favourite things. I wanted to take her on dates to make her realise how much I thought about her; to keep her in mind when I made decisions, even if it meant putting her first; and to know even more about her wants and desires, if she’d give me the chance to learn them.
“So gentlemanly,” she teased—an affront made to mask her blush. I stepped forward, wrapping her in a warm hug, and she nestled into it. We were lovers. Thinking that made me want to shout out across the rooftops of London.
“Why don’t we just stay here today?” I asked, coiling a lock of her hair around my finger. It smelled like hairspray and product from the night before, in an appealing, bubble-gum flavoured way. I was sure my smell after a night out was a big contrast—I really should’ve had a shower just in case.
“We can’t,” Audrey mumbled to my chest, increasing the distance between us only to take another sip of her latte before coming in closer again. Just like magnets. “I’m pretty sure we weren’t the only people who enjoyed ourselves last night, and from what I can remember of the venue, it wasn’t exactly left in the best shape.”
“Business moguls can be such party freaks.” I chuckled, knowing she was right. “Should we head back to work then?”
“We could swing by my place first?” Audrey suggested.
I frowned. “But it’s on the opposite side of the venue?”
“We might’ve made it this far, Theo, but I’m not showing up in front of George and Ava wearing either your clothes, or the same dress from last night. There’s nothing more incriminating. I might as well just blurt out, ‘that’s right! I slept with your son, and my client!’ as soon as I arrive.”
“Why hide it?” I asked. “You do realise Dad has seen footage of us making out in the archive room?”
In an instant, Audrey pushed me away, shock filling her face. “Ava said she didn’t show him!”
“Oh, Ava lied big time… but that means you knew?” My question caused a blush, stretching from one ear, across her nose, and to the other. It looks like we both decided it would be best to hide this… but my instinct came from her outburst of thinking it was a mistake. Hers? Probably internalised guilt for wanting it to happen again.
“I can’t believe George saw us kissing like that.” She ran back into me, making me brace myself with one foot backwards as she cringed into my chest. “How am I going to face him today?”
“He didn’t make a big deal out of it then.” I rubbed her back. “He’s not going to do so now.”
“Does he know?” she asked, as if I’d had the chance to reveal our big history.
“He knew I was hung up on some girl in Australia, and after realising we’d met before, I’m sure he was clever enough to fill in the gaps.”
“This is mortifying,” she said, swigging back a final slurp of her coffee and sitting the mug on the sink. Then, with a final huff, she made her decision. “Let’s get it over and done with.”
“Atta girl.”
I headed into the venue early, after Audrey insisted on arriving separately, all things considered. It worked out in the end, since she was the only one needing to travel back and forth from her house to change, and I could make sure Dad kept his humour under wraps—even if it was by letting him take his jokes out on me. And with two large boxes stacked in my grip, filled with freshly washed cutlery to go back into our storage facility, Dad thought it was the perfect time to flex that funny bone of his. “When we set up our HR guidelines, I didn’t realise the rules wouldn’t carry over to outsourced marketers,” he teased, as if he was about to write me up.
“I’m pretty sure the only concern would be if you got with one of the marketing members, not me, being on the same level as them,” I said. Though based on how dazzled everyone was with him, I should almost be worried that it could become a possibility.
“Oh, good to know. I had a whole notepad of pick-up lines I was going to use, so I’m glad to know that’s inappropriate,” he pretended.
“Who has what now?” Ava came by, looking casual for a change. She wore thick, beige sweatpants with a pink sweater on top, rocking an incredible ‘I’m too hungover for this’ pair of sunglasses, despite being indoors.
“Dad thinks he’s being funny,” I answered, letting him keep his dignity over a simple, poorly timed joke.
“Well, he must be funny, based on how many people laughed at his comedy on stage,” Ava referenced his skits while emceeing. “I’ve never found a man that charming.”
“His head can only get so big before it pops.” I huffed.
“Such a pleasant picture you’re painting here,” Dad jabbed. Ava gave us a look to say ‘I’ll leave you both to it’, before scurrying back out of our path of conversation again. I took the moment to truly admire what people saw in my father; he was physically strong, mentally bright, and his passion inspired the people around him—it was infectious. I’d like to think I took after him, but parts of me were more Mum than others. They were an odd match; too similar for people to think they’d work, but once they got together, they were picture perfect until she passed. Suddenly, I felt nostalgic, and curious about how they were together before I came along.
“Hey, Dad?” I asked, now that we were alone.
“What? Do you have another smart comment to make? Because we should really be getting some more work done,” he joked.
“How did you get Mum to fall for you?”
He looked taken aback, as if the conversation came entirely out of nowhere. It’s not that he didn’t like talking about her, it was just difficult. “Well, we met after working together.” A trait we shared in common. “I don’t think I made a great first impression, because she worried I didn’t care about the workload that much. But honestly, before her, I didn’t. I was lazier, I didn’t take responsibility for things I should have. Then she got to know me more, and I realised I wanted to impress her.”
“And slowly but surely, it happened?” I asked.
“More slowly than surely.” He laughed. “Then one night, I gathered the courage to ask her on a date, and while the question was a surprise to her, she surprised me more by saying yes.”
“I always wanted a love like yours,” I said, knowing I finally found it.
“Nothing would make me more proud to see you happy like we were,” he said. “In fact, lately you’ve seemed almost elated.”
I nodded, swallowing my smile as warmth filled my body. But I didn’t want to tell him about it all just yet, knowing that Audrey was going to be here soon. She would be horrified if I spilled our secrets to him, even if he could figure it out himself. Instead, I said, “You’re an amazing father, do you know that?”
His eyes turned misty; he was always quick to show emotions, never pretending that it was something he needed to hide. “That really means a lot to me, Theo.”
“You’re right, though. We do need to get back to work,” I said, changing the topic. And after Dad’s quick but comforting squeeze of my shoulders, that’s exactly what we did.